More Than Meets The Eye
by ToHandCraftedBeers
Summary: Sequel to A Loss And A Gain. Knuckles is jealeous when an old friend of Rouge's come's to visit, though she claims he's a nice guy. But there's something strange about him, and Knuckles is detirmened to find out what it is. (FINISHED)
1. Frankie

Chapter 1 Frankie  
  
Author's Note: Okey doke, the sequel to "A Loss and A Gain" OK, Rocky and Kninal are now three years old. Kninal wears a pink tank-top with a "K" on it and purple pants. Rocky, like his father, wears nothing. Marie and Spike (If you don't know who they are then look at the first chap of "A Loss and A Gain") have had a daughter, Soot. She's gray w/ white stripes, and green eyes. If you wanna know more about her, check out spikeluver2000's profile. She is also three years old. Shadow and Joan (read my profile if you don't know who she is) have had a son, ho is also three years old. He is black with silver stripes and brown eyes. His name is Vincent, but everyone calls him Vince. Sonic and Amy have a three year old as well. She looks like Amy, but is purple. Her name is Violet. I don't own her, my friend w/o a penname does.   
  
To Silver's Shadow Tamer: The Wind Beneath My wings is sung by Bette Midler.  
  
Disclaimer: OK, the people who I created, I own. The people I didn't create, I don't own. Whatever, on with the fic!  
  
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It was a normal Sunday evening in the echidna house hold. Rouge, Joan, Marie, and Amy were sitting in the kitchen, talking and drinking coffee. The children were all in the basement playing. And Knuckles, Shadow, Spike, and Sonic were all sitting on the couch with soda and chips, watching football. Yes, everything was as usual.  
  
A few minutes passed, and the phone rang. "Could someone get that?" Rouge called from the kitchen, considering the phone was right next to the couch. The boys acted like they didn't hear her. She sighed and walked into the living room.   
  
"No, don't all jump up at once, I'll get!" she said sarcastically.  
  
"Thanks," Knuckles mumbled with a mouthful of chips, oblivious to the tone of his wife's voice.  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes as she picked up the phone. "Hello?" There was silence for about a second or two, then a wide smile came across her face. "Oh my God, you're back? That's great!" more silence, "You are? Hold on, let me ask Knuckles." Rouge covered the mouth piece with her hand. "Knuckles can I ask you something?"  
  
"Can it wait?" Knuckles asked, transfixed on the TV set.  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Knuckles it's a commercial!"  
  
Knuckles snapped out of his trance. "Oh... yeah, what is it that you wanted to ask me?"  
  
"My good friend who I have seen for a long time, do to his job, is coming into town. Can he stay here Knuckles?"  
  
The football game had come back on and Knuckles was once again perplexed. "Wha? Oh yeah sure..."  
  
Rouge smiled, "Thank you so much Knuckles! Oh, and so you know, he's a guy. Is that okay?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
Rouge turned back to the phone. "Yeah, you can stay here, it's fine with Knuckles," silence, "Of course it's okay with me, you're my best friend!" The person on the other line said something and Rouge spoke again, "Of course the kids will like you! Ok, I'll see you tomorrow, bye!"  
  
"What's you're friend's name?" Knuckles asked.   
  
"Frankie. He's coming over around 11:00 tomorrow. I want you to be as nice as possible Knuckles, Frankie's had a tough life."  
  
"Got it," Knuckles replied. 'Hmm...' he thought, 'I went to school with a girl named Frankie. I wonder if it's the same one...." Knuckles had been too perplexed by his football game to realize that Rouge had mentioned Frankie was a guy. So were all the other guys.  
  
About a half hour later, the game finally ended. All the kids had already fallen asleep, and their fathers were lucky enough to have the privilege of carrying them home.  
  
"Bye guys, see you next Sunday!" Knuckles called as he waved goodbye.   
  
"Yeah, but next week, we're doing it at MY house!" called Shadow, who was shifting Vince to a more comfortable carrying position.  
  
Knuckles smiled at his friend as he closed the door. Him and Rouge took the twins upstairs, and went to sleep.  
  
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They next morning was gray rainy. Thunder roared through the sky as rain pelted the windows. Knuckles groaned as he rolled over in bed to look at the clock. "God, 10:45! How did I sleep so late?"  
  
He put on his robe and walked slowly down the stairs, yawning. He went into the kitchen where he saw Rouge cooking breakfast. She smiled as he came in. "You sure slept late, didn't you?" she said before giving him a good-morning kiss.  
  
Just as he sat down at the table, the door bell rang. "I'll get it," he said smiling at Rouge.  
  
He opened the door and was shocked at what he saw. There, standing out in the pouring rain was a hedgehog who was like nothing he'd ever seen before. He was orange with brighter orange stripes on his quills, which stuck up the way Shadow's did. He was wearing a white muscle shirt, over which he wore a black leather jacket with the sleeves cut off. His blue jeans were faded, and a wallet chain hung out of his left pocket. His right ear was pieced twice, and he wore red sunglasses with orange lenses. His gloves were black, and had their fingers cut off. On the back of each glove was a red dragon's head.  
  
Behind him stood a red dark chao with two spikes coming out of his head. The tips of his spikes were yellow, as were his hands, feet, the tip of his tail, and the spot on his head. His wings were large and golden.  
  
The hedgehog stepped into the house, put down his bags and shook himself off like a dog, with water flying every which way. The chao followed suit.  
  
"Err... Can I help you?" Knuckles asked, giving the animal a strange look.  
  
"Yeah, is this the echidna residence?" the hedgehog asked.  
  
Before Knuckles could answer, Rouge walked into the foyer and spotted the hedgehog.   
  
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed before running up to the hedgehog and giving him a hug.  
  
"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude but, who are you?" Knuckles asked, completely confused.  
  
"I'm sorry, let me introduce myself," the hedgehog replied, "I'm Frankie."  
  
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Oooh, this is different. How will Knuckles handle this. Sorry that it was short, but I thought that would be a good place to end the chapter. The next chapters will be longer (and better) so please review! This story may turn out shorter than the other ones, but the one that comes after this will be longer. Ok, bu bye, and REVIEW DON'T FLAME! .....please? People who review get mentioned in my next chapter, plus, the get chocolate! Ok, I've ssaid enough, the next chapter ill be up soon, so long! 


	2. Something Strange

Chapter 2 Something Strange  
  
Author's Note: First of all, I want to thank all my reviewers. Thank you Sonicfanatic, randomchild, rougewave, Shadow2, Kokesu, and The Rockologist for reviewing my story! (Sorry if you reviewed and I didn't mention your name.) Oh, if you guys have time, after you read this, you should read my new story called "If Eggman Fell Out of the Sky" You don't have to read it, but I would be happy. Err... anyways, next chapter!  
  
To The Rockologist: Shadow's Sonic X voice actor is Eric Stuart. Ha! I win!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, so don't sue me!  
  
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"What!?" Knuckles exclaimed in shock.  
  
"Knuckles, this is Frankie," Rouge explained, smiling at Knuckles, "We've been best friends since before I can remember, but I've already told you that."  
  
"Nice to meet you," replied Knuckles, with a mad look on his face.  
  
Just then the twins walked down the stairs, rubbing sleep from their eyes.  
  
"Oh, Rocky, Kninal, come meet you're Uncle Frankie!" Rouge exclaimed.  
  
Knuckles flinched at the thought of this guy being his children's "Uncle". The twins ran into the foyer, excited at meeting anyone new.  
  
"Hi Uncle Frankie!" the two chorused as the stared up at the hedgehog.  
  
Frankie smiled, "You must be the twins," he replied, "I've heard lots about you!"  
  
"Hey guys, why don't you show you're uncle where his room is?" Knuckles asked the twins, willing to do anything to get Frankie out of the room.  
  
"Okay," they replied, leading Frankie up the stairs with the chao following closely behind.   
  
As the group walked up the stairs, Knuckles and Rouge could hear Kninal say, "You're cool Uncle Frankie, I hope you stay."  
  
They also heard Rocky reply, saying, "Yeah Uncle Frankie, you can stay as long as you want!"  
  
When Knuckles was sure they were out of earshot, he turned to Rouge. "THIS is Frankie?" he spat at her, "You could have told me Frankie was a GUY!"  
  
Rouge glared at Knuckles. "I DID tell you Frankie was a guy!" she replied bitterly, "YOU just weren't listening!"  
  
Knuckles looked at her, trying to think of a comeback. "Well, even if you DID tell me Frankie was a guy, you should have told me he was a-a, a gangster!" he shot back.  
  
Rouge glared at him, looking like she was deeply offended. "He is NOT a gangster, that's just the way he dresses! I can't even believe that you'd say something like that! You've never stereo typed people before!"  
  
Knuckles looked at his shoes, not wanting to look Rouge in the eye. He tried desperately to find a comeback, but he just couldn't think of one.  
  
Then, he heard Rouge laughing quietly. He looked up to see that se was smiling. "What's so funny?" he asked.  
  
"The fact that you're jealous of Frankie. It's almost kind of... cute."  
  
Knuckles stared at Rouge, shocked at the fact that his wife had figured out what he was trying to hide. "Me? Jealous of him? Why would I be jealous of him?" he asked nervously.  
  
Rouge smiled, "Knuckles, it's nothing to be ashamed of, it's perfectly natural. This is the first time that there's been a guy around that I could possibly fall for, so you're jealous. You have nothing to worry about though; Frankie only likes me as a friend. Plus, you know I love you," With that she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then looked to the stairs to see Frankie coming down, followed by his chao.  
  
"He's coming downstairs Knuckles, be nice," she warned before turning to Frankie. "How about the three of us sit in the living room for a while, so you two can get to know each other better?" she suggested.  
  
"Sure," Frankie replied.  
  
"I guess," said Knuckles.  
  
The three of them sat in the living room, unable to start a good conversation. Frankie and Rouge started talking about something they did when they were kids, and Knuckles tuned them out. Knuckles just stared at Frankie. He looked so familiar, but Knuckles couldn't figure out why. All he knew was that he'd seen the guy before.  
  
"So, uh, Frankie, what do you do for a profession?"  
  
"Well..." Frankie sort of trailed off, like he didn't want to talk about it.  
  
Rouge noticed this and answered for him. "Frankie works for a space station. The reason I haven't seen him for over six years is because he was sent on an expedition to Mars. While he was gone we communicated through Email. He just got back recently."  
  
"Umm.... I actually don't work for the space station anymore," Frankie murmured.  
  
"What?" Rouge asked, sounding confused.  
  
Knuckles snorted, figuring he had probably gotten fired.  
  
"I quit because I realized it was pulling me away from those I care about," Frankie explained, smiling at Rouge  
  
Knuckles glared at Frankie, but then he noticed something. "Frankie," he asked, "why do you wear sunglasses even though we're inside?"  
  
Rouge shot him a 'Don't-Go-There" look, but Frankie simply answered, "I don't like to take my sunglasses off."  
  
Frankie's chao started pulling at Frankie's leg, and making frustrated noises.  
  
"You want to sit up here buddy?" he asked the chao as he picked it up onto the couch.  
  
"Can I ask one more question, Frank?" Knuckles asked.  
  
Frankie nodded.  
  
"What's with the chao?"  
  
Frankie laughed, "Oh, this is Dragon," Frankie tuned to his chao, "Dragon, that's Knuckles."  
  
The chao stared at Knuckles and waved.  
  
"You see, Dragon follows him around the way cheese follows Cream," Rouge explained.  
  
Knuckles nodded. He watched the two as they talked and gritted his teeth. There were just so many things he didn't like about this guy. One, he knew he had seen Frankie before, he just couldn't remember when. Two, why did he wear sunglasses? After all, it WAS pouring down rain today; who wears sunglasses in the rain? What was he trying to hide? Three, how did he get the twins to like him so fast? Sure, Rocky and Kninal loved meeting new people, but they just loved Frankie. And four, he could tell that Frankie was hitting on Rouge, he just knew it.  
  
Well, there was one thing that Knuckles was sure about. He wasn't letting this guy stay in his house much longer.  
  
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Okay, sorry about that chapter being short. Tell me what you think, and I'll be happy! Next chapter goes up soon, and NO FLAMES! Sorry about that... okay, reviewers get goldfish! (Not the kind that die in one day) So review! Bu bye! 


	3. The Fight

  
Chapter 3 The Fight  
  
Author's Note: OK, here we go. For once, I have nothing to say before I start a chapter! I usually have some kind of announcement, but this time I don't! Well, except for the fact that I updated, "If Eggman Fell Out of The Sky." So, I guess I have nothing to do but start the next chapter. Oh and thank you reviewers!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own SEGA characters! I never have, so leave me alone!  
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Knuckles and Rouge were in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch. Well, Rouge was cleaning, and Knuckles was kind of standing there, trying to pick the best time to tell Rouge that he wanted Frankie out. Frankie at the moment was outside, playing with the kids, so he figured it would be a good time to tell her.  
  
"Uh... Rouge?" he asked nervously.  
  
"Yeah?" replied Rouge who was washing dishes.  
  
"I need to tell you something. It's about Frankie."  
  
"What about Frankie?" Rouge asked.  
  
"I- I want him out," Knuckles mumbled.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"I just don't like him, that's all," Knuckles explained.  
  
Rouge sighed. "Knuckles," she started, "I let you invite your friends over every Sunday to watch football. I let you eat junk food on our couch. I clean up the mess you make, and I try very, very hard not to disturb while you're watching the game. I ask you to do one favor for me, let me have my friend stay here, and that's just too much for you isn't it?" With that she turned away from him and continued washing dishes.  
  
"Rouge I- I'm sorry. It's not the fact that he's you're friend, I'm just not comfortable with him being here...."  
  
Rouge smiled at Knuckles, "Knuckles I told you, you don't have to be jealous of Frankie. Though... it is pretty cute."  
  
Knuckles was about to say that he wasn't jealous of Frankie, but he kept his mouth shut. What was the use anyway? If Rouge wasn't going to help him get rid of Frankie in a peaceful way, then he'd have to take matters into his own hands.  
  
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Later that evening, after supper, Knuckles was watching TV with Frankie in the living room. He was going to wait until Rouge and the kids were out of the house. Then, he would put his master plan into action.  
  
"Knuckles, Frankie?" Rouge called from the kitchen.  
  
"We're in the living room!" Knuckles shouted back.  
  
Rouge walked into the living room and saw the guys watching TV. 'At least they're getting along,' she thought. "Guys, I'm taking Rocky and Kninal to Shadow's house, and then I'm going shopping, so I'll be back in an hour or two."  
  
'That's plenty of time,' Knuckles thought. "Okay, so long," he said. When he was sure the car had driven away, he stood up and looked at Frankie. "Get out," he said simply.  
  
"Huh?" Frankie asked, not sure of what was going on.  
  
"I said, get out of my house."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Because you are a danger to this family," he replied.  
  
"What in the world are you talking about?" Frankie asked, now standing up as well.  
  
"Oh, do you want to hear the list of things I don't like about you?"  
  
Frankie froze for a second. Knuckles had a list of things he didn't like about him? "Sure, why not?"  
  
"One, I know I've met you sometime before."  
  
Frankie gave him a strange look. "That happens all the time Knuckles! I've never met you until two days ago!"  
  
"I don't believe that! I'm positive I've seen you before! So, that means either A, I saw you on Angel Island; or B, that I saw you during the six years you were supposed to be on Mars."  
  
"Listen, Knuckles, you're drawing too many conclusions!" Frankie tried to rationalize, but it was no use. Knuckles was fuming mad, and nothing was going to calm him down.  
  
"Oh, I'm no where near finished. See, the only people who lived on Angel Island were me, my brother, and my father. So, if I had seen you on Angel Island, then that means you were an emerald thief!"  
  
"I'm no emerald thief!"  
  
"Well then, that means I must've seen you when you were supposed to be on Mars, meaning you were avoiding Rouge! What kind of best friend would do that?"  
  
"I never tried to avoid Rouge!" Frankie argued.  
  
"Well, then why don't we move to number two on the list? You never take you're sunglasses off!"  
  
Frankie was confused now, "What's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"I mean you NEVER take them off. Not when it rains, not when you're inside, not when you shower, not when you sleep, never! It's not normal! What are you trying to hide Frankie?"  
  
Frankie looked hurt by Knuckles words, "What I'm trying to hide is none of you're business!"  
  
"Okay, fine. But how'd you get the kids to like you so fast?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Knuckles?" Frankie screamed, "So you're kids like me, big whoop!"  
  
Knuckles smiled at Frankie. "Oh, but you haven't heard the fourth reason for not liking you."  
  
Frankie raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'Go on, tell me.'  
  
Knuckles clenched his fists. "You're hitting on Rouge."  
  
Frankie looked like he was trying very hard to holdback laughter. "You seriously think that I'm hitting on Rouge? C'mon man, we're best friends!"  
  
"Yeah, that's what you want me to think!"  
  
Frankie gave Knuckles a strange look. "Knuckles, you're losing it!"  
  
"Just get out of my house!" Knuckles shouted  
  
"No1" Frankie spat back.  
  
"I didn't want it too come to this..." Knuckles murmured before throwing a punch that made contact with the side of Frankie's face.   
  
Frankie staggered backwards and felt his cheek to make sure it wasn't bleeding. "Knuckles, fighting won't solve anything!"  
  
"You think so?" Knuckles shot at him before throwing another punch that Frankie dodged, "Well, I think it'll solve the Frankie problem!"  
  
"Knuckles, please!" Frankie pleaded before dodging another punch; "Can't this be settled another way?"  
  
"Let me think about that," Knuckles said sarcastically, "Um... NO!" He threw another punch at Frankie's head, which he dodged. But as he jumped out of the way, Knuckles fist made contact with his chest, ripping his muscle shirt and revealing a red dragon tattoo.  
  
Frankie turned away in shame. He hated that tattoo...  
  
"As if it all wasn't enough!" Knuckles shouted, "You have a tattoo too? Why don't you get a nose ring to go with it?"  
  
"Why are you against everything about me?" Frankie asked.  
  
Knuckles chose not to respond to that question, and threw a punch instead. Frankie caught Knuckles's fist in his hand and glared at him.  
  
"Fighting only proves how weak a person is. It proves that they are too weak to use their words to settle things, so they use their fists instead. You've just proved to me that you are too weak to control your rage Knuckles. Something I learned how to do a long time ago." With that, Frankie pushed Knuckles fist back, a little harder than he meant to. The force knocked Knuckles into a bookshelf, causing two VERY large dictionaries to fall on his head, knocking him out.  
  
"Oh God..." Frankie whispered, "What have I done?"  
  
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When Rouge returned home, she found Knuckles out cold on the couch, and Frankie hovering over him.  
  
"Frankie!" she shouted, "What happened here?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Frankie whispered shaking his head, "I didn't want this. This is what I tried to avoid..."  
  
"Frankie, what happened?" Rouge repeated.  
  
Frankie turned to her, allowing her to see his bruised face and ripped shirt. Rouge gasped. Frankie explained the fight to Rouge and she shook her head.  
  
"He got what he deserved," she whispered, "I'm sorry about this Frankie."  
  
Frankie shook his head, "It's all right, he just lost control."  
  
Rouge looked sympathetically at her husband; "He will be okay though, right?"  
  
Frankie nodded, "He should be waking up any time now.".  
  
Right then, as if on cue, Knuckles eyes started to open slowly. "Wha? What happened?" he muttered.  
  
"Knuckles," Frankie whispered, "Knuckles, are you okay?"  
  
Knuckles looked up and saw Frankie, "You..." he muttered, "haven't you learned enough?"  
  
A hurt look came across Frankie's face, and he turned around and went upstairs.  
  
"Nice going Knuckles," Rouge remarked standing over him.  
  
Knuckles sat up and looked at his wife. "What'd I do?" he asked innocently.  
  
Rouge glared at him. "Even though you beat Frankie up, he still cared for you until you woke up. And still, you have no kind words to say to him. Frankie has been nothing but kind to you his whole visit, but you still can't accept him!" Rouge shouted. Knuckles sank into the couch, starting to feel bad, but Rouge continued. "You know what Knuckles? Frankie's life hasn't been too easy. As a matter of fact, he lost both of his parents, and his sister when he was only three years old, Knuckles! Only three!"  
  
Knuckles looked at Rouge, "He did?"  
  
Rouge sighed and nodded, "Since that day he raised himself. Frankie never lived in a real house, Knuckles!" Knuckles hung his head in shame. "Oh, and there's one last thing I want to tell you, Knuckles,"  
  
Rouge said. "All Frankie wanted was to be your friend, Knuckles, since the day he came here! That's all he wanted was to be you're friend! So congratulations, Knuckles! You've taken a guy who has led a troubled life, and made it worse! You have added to the hundred problems that Frankie has had to deal with in his life. You took something that he was looking forward to, and crushed it! Congratulations, Knuckles, you're the winner! You're prize is a guilty conscience, enjoy!" With that, Rouge stormed out of the living room, leaving Knuckles alone with his shame.  
  
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Ok, there's you're chapter, so please review! Reviewers get um... hamsters! Remember, no flames! Bu bye now!  
  



	4. Frankie's Girlfriend

Chapter 4 Frankie's Girlfriend  
  
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, but I got lazy. The genre has changed to romance/drama because this chapter gets pretty dramatic. Plus, it was never very humorous anyway... Oh well. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Go away.  
  
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Knuckles sat on the couch with his head in his hands, thinking,  
  
'Man,' he thought, 'Rouge sure knows how to make a guy feel guilty.'  
  
He knew he had to apologize to Frankie, after all, he had said some cruel things. But apologizing was not something Knuckles did well. In fact, the only person he could ever remember apologizing to before was Rouge. It had been at Meteor Herd, after their fight...  
  
Knuckles shook his head, but stopped because it hurt. Now was no time to stroll down memory lane. But what could he do? He didn't know how to apologize to someone.  
  
He slowly got up, staggering a little from the pain in his head, and made his way up the stairs. Each step seemed like a mile as he climbed up to Frankie's room, dreading the moment he'd finally get there.  
  
He wished that they could just forget the whole thing happened and move on, without having to say he was sorry. That's what he always did when he got into arguments with his other friends...  
  
Knuckles sighed, realizing that there was no way out of this mess. He would just have to put away his pride and say he was sorry.  
  
After what seemed like forever, Knuckles finally stood in front of Frankie's door. He raised one trembling fist in front of it, hesitating to knock. It was amazing that someone as fearless as Knuckles could be afraid of saying a simple word. But to him, saying sorry showed weakness, or surrender, things that just weren't in his nature.  
  
But there was no turning back now; he had to do this. Reluctantly, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer.  
  
"Come in," he heard Frankie muttered.  
  
Knuckles took a deep breath. Once he opened this door, there was no getting out of it. Running from apologizing would just show more weakness than actually doing it. He turned the knob, and stepped into the room.  
  
"Hey," he whispered, nervously.  
  
Frankie looked at him and then turned away. He had been expecting Rouge...  
  
"What do you want?" he asked bitterly, "Did you come to fight some more?"  
  
Knuckles bit his lip and looked down. "I actually came to tell you something..." he muttered, trailing off.  
  
Frankie still refused to look at Knuckles. "What, did you come to tell me to get out of your house?"  
  
"No..."  
  
Frankie stole a glance at Knuckles, who was still looking at the ground. "Then what is it?"  
  
"I'm sorry..." he muttered as quietly as he could.  
  
"Huh?" Frankie asked, who had honestly not heard.  
  
Knuckles sighed. Frankie just couldn't make this easy could he? He looked up at the ground and looked straight at Frankie. "I'm sorry," he repeated, clearly.  
  
At first, Frankie didn't believe that Knuckles's words were true. But with one look at his face, he could tell that his words were sincere. "I forgive you," Frankie replied, "And I'm sorry about the dictionaries."  
  
Knuckles laughed. "So, uh, Frank, do you think we could start over and forget this ever happened? Do you think we could be... friends?"  
  
Frankie nodded. "I think that would be good."  
  
Knuckles nodded and was about to walk out of the room when an idea struck him. "Hey Frankie?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Me, Rouge, and a couple of our other friends are going to the club tonight, you wanna come?"  
  
Frankie was a little uncertain. He always was shy to meet new people. "I don't know..."  
  
"C'mon , man, it'll be fun!"  
  
Frankie sighed. "All right, I'll go..."  
  
Knuckles smiled, "Great."  
  
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Knuckles and Frankie walked into the club, trying to spot the guys, as Rouge went to join the girls.  
  
"There they are!" Knuckles exclaimed, pointing to a table where Sonic, shadow, Spike, and Sonic were sitting.  
  
Spike waved at them and signaled for them to come over. Knuckles and Frankie approached the table and greeted the guys.  
  
"Guys, this is Frankie, he's an old friend of Rouge's, and a new friend of mine. His name is Frankie."  
  
"Hey Frankie!" they all chorused. Frankie simply smiled as him and Knuckles took seats at the table.  
  
The guys chatted, but Frankie stayed quiet. He seemed to be focused on something, or... someone.  
  
"Hey Frankie what's up?" Knuckles asked, looking at his friend curiously.  
  
The guys followed his gaze and it landed on a purple hedgehog with black stripes. She was wearing a light blue shirt with a purple "J" on it, and a periwinkle skirt. She was talking to Rouge Joan and Amy.  
  
Shadow smiled. "Looks like Frankie's got a crush."  
  
Frankie snapped back to reality at hearing Shadow's words. "Wha? No way, I-I don't have a crush on her!"  
  
Spike smirked, "Her name is Jasmine, and she's my wife's best friend."  
  
"Speaking of which, where is your wife?" Knuckles asked, not seeing Marie chatting with the other girls.  
  
"She forgot her cell phone. She went home to get it."  
  
Frankie was still staring at Jasmine, blocking the whole conversation out. "Jasmine..." he whispered.  
  
Sonic waved a hand in front of Frankie's face. "Dude, if you like her, go talk to her!"  
  
Frankie sighed. "What interest would she have in a guy like me?"  
  
"You never know until you try!" Shadow assured him.  
  
Frankie got up from the table. "It's worth a try," he whispered.  
  
Meanwhile, the girls were having a similar conversation.  
  
"Who's that hedgehog talking to the guys?" Jasmine asked.  
  
"Oh, that's Frankie," Rouge answered, "He's an old friend of mine. Why do you ask?"  
  
Jasmine smiled. "He's cute."  
  
The other girls smirked.  
  
"Go talk to him, Jazz!" Amy suggested.  
  
Jasmine shook her head, "I don't know..."  
  
"Hey, Jazz, he's coming this way!" Joan told her.  
  
"Yeah, Jasmine, he's gonna talk to you!" Amy whispered excitedly.  
  
Just as the girls predicted, Frankie came up to Jasmine and smiled.  
  
"Hi," he said nervously, "I'm Frankie."  
  
Jasmine smiled shyly, "I'm Jasmine."  
  
"Could I like, buy you a drink or something?"  
  
Jasmine nodded, "Sure."  
  
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The guys and girls watched Jasmine and Frankie as they sat and talked. They appeared to be having a great time.  
  
Jasmine said something to Frankie, and then got up to go to the bathroom. At this moment, the guys ran up to Frankie and started bombarding him with questions.  
  
"How'd it go?"  
  
"Does she like you?"  
  
"What did you talk about?"  
  
Frankie held up a hand to signal silence.  
  
"Everything went fine, and I really like her."  
  
Knuckles looked at him, "Did she ask why you never take off your sunglasses?"  
  
Frankie nodded, "Yeah, but that's okay we'll work around that."  
  
Now Sonic stepped up. "Okay, so you like her. Ask her to be your girlfriend!"  
  
Frankie gave a worried look. "Should I?"  
  
All the guys nodded and hid again once Jasmine came back. This time, they were close enough to hear what they were saying.  
  
"Uh.. Jazz?" Frankie asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Frankie took a deep breath. "I had a great time tonight, and what I'm trying to say is, will you be my girlfriend?"  
  
All the guys and girls smiled as they waited for Jasmine's reply. "I'd love to be your girlfriend Frankie, but that means one thing."  
  
Frankie nodded, telling her to continue.  
  
"Being my boyfriend means no lies, and no secrets."  
  
"I understand that." Frankie assured her.  
  
"So take off your sunglasses."  
  
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Yep, I think I'll end it right there! I'm so evil! Sorry for shortness, but I wanted it to end there. Next chapter... The Secret Behind Frankie's Glasses Is Reviled! If you want, try and guess what he's hiding! Please review! 


	5. Frankie's Past

Chapter 5 Frankie's Past   
  
Author's Note: Ok, here we go. I want to thank the reviewers for reviewing, and um... start the story.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own SEGA characters. If I did, I'd be sitting in a cushy chair right now in a house with 15 stories!  
  
To The Rockologist: Sorry, on the last chapter I forgot to tell you who does Shadow's voice in the games! The English voice is Scott Dreier, and the Japanese voice is Kouji Yusa. Ha! Take that!  
  
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"What!" Frankie exclaimed, hoping he had heard wrong. 'Not the sunglasses, not the sunglasses, anything but the sunglasses!'  
  
"You heard me Frankie. You told me you never take your sunglasses off, and when I asked why you said, 'I just don't.' Well, I consider that a secret, Frankie, and I want to know the truth. What is behind those glasses?"  
  
Frankie looked down. How could this get any worse? If he took off his glasses, he'd have to explain what had happened. How could he bring himself to do that? "I, I..." he trailed off helplessly.  
  
"Frankie, please, it's not that hard."  
  
Frankie wished that Jasmine knew just how hard it was. But, people do make sacrifices for love, and he guessed he'd just have to consider this a sacrifice. He swallowed hard and nodded his head. "Fine, you win."  
  
With that he slipped his sunglasses of, but instinctively shut his eyes.  
  
Jasmine sighed. "Frankie, open your eyes."  
  
Frankie shook his head, "I... can't"  
  
Jasmine smirked as she got an idea, "Fine, be that way," she said. She started to walk in place, to make it sound like she was walking away.  
  
"No, Jazz!" Frankie exclaimed, opening his eyes so he could run after her. He was a bit surprised to find her right in front of him. For the first time in 19 years, Frankie looked someone in the eye without his glasses. It was so... unreal.  
  
Jasmine stared into Frankie's eyes, and was immediately puzzled, not able to understand what Frankie had been trying to hide. His eyes were mostly red, but some yellow streaks were apparent. Sure, the color was a little strange, but why would he want to hide it? "Frankie, I don't understand..."  
  
Frankie hung his head in shame. "They didn't used to look like that...' he muttered, "They used to be gold."  
  
Jasmine was still confused, "How did they get like this?"  
  
Frankie sighed. "That was the part I was afraid to tell you."  
  
X Flashback X  
  
It was a normal evening in Frankie's home. Him, his mother, his father, and his twin sister were all playing Monopoly on the floor, while watching a movie.  
  
"Okay kids, it's 9:30. You two better get up to bed if you want to wake up bright and early for you birthday tomorrow!" His mother told him and his sister. The two three-year olds nodded and ran upstairs to get ready for bed.  
  
Frankie was the first to get to the room that he and his sister shared, so his mother came to tuck him in.  
  
"Goodnight," she whispered with a smile.  
  
Frankie yawned, "Night, night," he whispered back. He didn't know how he'd ever sleep, he was so excited. His chao, Dragon, crawled up onto the bed and snuggled next to him.  
  
By the time his sister entered the room, he was already asleep.  
  
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Frankie was sleeping peacefully when Dragon started to panic. He pawed at Frankie's face frantically, desperately trying to wake him.  
  
"Chao, chao!" he screamed.  
  
Frankie's eyes opened slowly, and he gave his furry friend a curious look. "Dragon?" Frankie then looked around him, and realized that there was smoke coming into the room from underneath the door.  
  
He gasped and frantically tried to wake his sister, but it was of no use. He did the last thing he could think of, and picked her up, almost collapsing under her weight.  
  
"Mommy, Daddy!" he screamed. Dragon shook his head, as if to tell him it was no use, but Frankie wouldn't listen. He half carried; half dragged his sister to his parent's room, terrified at what he saw. There they were, his mother and father's bodies, lying lifeless.   
  
He was lost for words, and simply turned around and headed on, wishing he were the one asleep. Tears ran down the three-year-olds face as he desperately tried to make his way out of the house. His sister awoke slowly, and was immediately frightened by her surroundings.  
  
Before she could ask any questions, Frankie simply shouted, "Run!" And that she did. They dashed off different directions, and that was the last he saw of his sister.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Frankie saw an opening he ran for it, and made his way out into the light. He breathed in the fresh air, and looked around, trying to catch sight of hi sister. The, he heard a scream come from within the house.  
  
"Chao!" Dragon! He had left Dragon behind!  
  
"Dragon! I'm coming!" he shouted. Apparently, Frankie had learned to never go back into a burning building after you were safe.   
  
He frantically scanned the area, trying to find his beloved chao. "Dragon!" he called out.  
  
"Chao!" Dragon called back  
  
Frankie tried to find where the chao had called from, but it was slightly difficult with all the embers flying around. Finally, he spotted the little red creature.  
  
"Dragon!" he exclaimed happily. He picked up his friend and hugged him. Then in happened.   
  
A pillar fell down from the ceiling above, cause ashes to fly everywhere. Some of these ashes blew into Frankie's eyes.  
  
The stinging was horrible, and Frankie was unable to see. He felt around for Dragon, and grabbed his foot.  
  
"Fly buddy, fly!" he shouted. It was a good thing that Frankie was small, otherwise he never would've gotten away like that. Dragon was just barely able to fly Frankie out of the house. As soon as they hit the ground, Frankie collapsed and passed out. It had been the worst birthday of his life.  
  
X End Flashback X  
  
There were tears brimming Frankie's eyes now as he finished the story.  
  
"The next day, I woke up and I could see again," he continued, "I took care of myself, living in underground burrows, eating off the land. I met Rouge about a week after the accident. She gave me these sunglasses after I told her I couldn't stand looking at my reflection. When we got older, I pretended to live in her house so I could go to school. And that's pretty much my life story."  
  
Everyone was speechless. They stared at Frankie; unable to imagine the bravery it must've taken that day.  
  
Uncomfortable with the silence, Frankie spoke. "So... anyone want something to eat?"  
  
At that moment, Marie ran into the club, breathing heavy. "Sorry... got... here.... as fast... as I "  
  
Frankie stared at the echidna in disbelief. "Marie?" he whispered.  
  
Hearing her name, Marie looked up and stared at the hedgehog in amazement. ".... Frankie?"  
  
"But you're dead!" they said at the same time.  
  
"What's going on here?" Knuckles asked, confused.  
  
"This is my sister, who I thought died in the fire!"  
  
Marie smiled, "Frankie, I thought you died in the fire!"  
  
Frankie shook his head.  
  
"God, this is freaky. Who's playing games with my head? Who are you, because I know you're not my brother!" Marie shouted.  
  
"But I am!"  
  
"My brother died 19 years ago! And whoever you are, you're very cruel for making me remember that day!"  
  
"But I am Frankie!"  
  
Marie shook her head, "This is just too weird..."  
  
Suddenly, something clicked with Knuckles. "That's why I recognized him! From the pictures that Marie showed us! I KNEW I saw you somewhere before!"  
  
Frankie nodded. "That's right! If you don't believe me Marie, then look at this."  
  
With that, he pulled out a picture of him, Marie, there parents, and Dragon playing Monopoly.   
  
"And here's Dragon!" Frankie said, picking up the chao.   
  
"My God..." she whispered, "You are Frankie!"  
  
With that the drew each other into a huge embrace. Something neither of them had felt for nineteen years.  
  
X Epilogue X  
  
So, Frankie met his long lost sister (I know that was random, but you'll live), got a girlfriend, and became friends with Knuckles.  
  
Frankie continued to live with Knuckles after all of this, and he doesn't seem like he's intent on moving out. Or getting a new job.  
  
Knuckles got a job as security guard for a major jewelry company. He guards their priceless gems. (Sounds familiar...)  
  
For right now, Rouge continues to be a stay-at-home mom. After all, the kids are only three.   
  
The kids have made a new friend, Tsunami. He's sea green with blue stripes. Him and Violet seem to like each other a little more than friends though, if you know what I mean.  
  
Kninal and Vince seem to like each other more as well.  
  
So do Rocky and Soot.  
  
God, these kids are only three, and the already have crushes. What has the world come to?  
  
But one thing Knuckles doesn't know is that in a few days, he's going to get the surprise of his life.  
  
And it's not good news.  
  
THE END  
  
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Sequel! The next story is really going to take a turn from my other fics. It's called, "The Family Legacy." The genre will be action/adventure/drama. But since you guys are so nice, I'm going to give you the summary ahead of time!  
  
The Family Legacy  
  
Knuckles is woken one night by a strange echidna who sends him on a new quest. The fate of the world depends upon Knuckles, but what happens when he finds out that his enemy is someone he thought he could trust?  
  
Ooh.. Tell me what you think of this chapter and the summary for the new story! So long everyone! 


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